Under His Protection (Protect and Defend 1)

“Tell me why you’re crying.” It wasn’t a question. He needed to know.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Boyfriend trouble?” He smiled, trying to make light of it. He wanted to see her smile for real, wanted to hear her laugh.

Her expression didn’t shift. She was one hundred percent serious as she whispered, “You know I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t want any other man.”

The words except you settled into his brain, unsaid but heard nevertheless. He knew what she was saying. It was as if he could read her mind, read her eyes,

read everything about her.

Unable to resist, Mason touched her cheek, surprised at the softness, the warmth he felt there. She parted her lips, still damp from her crying, and he wanted them damp from his kisses instead.

“Mason,” she whispered. The sound aching and needy, it called to his achy and needy heart.

Leaning in, he dipped his head, his mouth hovering above hers. He shouldn’t do this. He shouldn’t kiss her, because once his lips touched hers, there was no going back. He didn’t think he’d be strong enough to stop.

She slid her hands up his arms, her palms lingering, softly stroking and he breathed deep, tried to gain some sort of control. He had no idea her touch could affect him so strongly. Had no idea she could affect him so strongly.

This little bit of a woman, with the troubled and vulnerable heart, was slowly squirming into is life. And he didn’t want to stop her.

Blake wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her fingers in his hair. Her caresses felt good, so good. He closed his eyes, his strength, his resistance slipping away with every breath he took, every tender touch she gave him.

And because he wasted too much time, Blake took matters into her own hands. Tilting her head, she brushed her mouth against his. It was as if a spark ignited between them. Harsh and bright, burning so fast he was instantly consumed.

Just like that. Overwhelmed with sensation, with the fact he was actually kissing Blake.

And as predicted, he didn’t want to stop.

Mason wrapped his arm around Blake, cradling her close with such gentleness, she wanted to weep. He cupped her cheek with his other hand, his fingers stroking, cherishing her, touching her so gently she wanted to weep. Oh, and his mouth, firm and strong and soft all at once. Coaxing her with delicious persistence, her lips parted with his every stroke until finally, his tongue touched the center of her bottom lip before it swept the interior of her mouth.

She wanted to die from bliss. Her dream had finally come true. In Mason’s arms, his mouth locked on hers, breathing his breath, touching him. His hair was silky soft, curling around her fingers and she tunneled them into the thick mass, clutching his head close.

It was as if she couldn’t stop touching him.

She opened her mouth wider, letting him in, and he took advantage. His tongue curled around hers, the kiss turning instantly deep and hot. He clutched her face almost desperately and she shifted closer, wanting to be next to him, on top of him, all over him.

As if reading her mind, he hauled her close until she toppled over him. Their mouths still fused, she slid her hands down, over his firm shoulders, his hard as granite arms. Across his broad chest, she rested her palm against the center, over his racing heart. It thundered against her hand, nearly as fast as her own, and it thrilled her. She affected him just as much as he did her.

She wanted him naked. She wanted him inside her. There was no need for foreplay, no need for the preamble that usually came with sex. Her panties were soaked, her breasts full and achy and her body tingled for more. They’d get to the good and slow stuff later.

Right now, she wanted it hard and fast.

Straddling his hips, she pushed him against the back of the couch, nipping at his lips with her teeth, her hands fiddling with the hem of his T-shirt. She made contact with bare, hot flesh and he shivered at her touch, making her smile.

Making him break the kiss.

Blake opened her eyes to find him staring at her, his lips swollen and parted, his breathing accelerated, as if he’d just run a long and exhausting race.

She felt much the same way. Her heart beat so hard, she was sure he could see it throb beneath her shirt and she swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat, trying to find words.

He found them first.

“Blake.” The tone of his voice set off about a thousand alarms, all of them clanging loudly, ringing in her ears. “We...can’t.”

Shaking her head, she rested a single finger against his mouth, silencing him. She stroked his soft bottom lip with the tip of her finger, learning the curve of it, remembering the way it felt pressed to hers only moments ago. “Don’t say it.”

Mason shifted beneath her, trying to get her off him, but she clung, curling her other hand around his shoulder as if she never wanted to let go. “We need to stop.”